US support for Israel at the UN is in jeopardy, says White House

David Lauter

Washington: The White House has pointedly criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's successful re-election campaign and suggested his newly declared opposition to a Palestinian state could jeopardise America's unwavering support for Israel at the United Nations.

Up Next

Barcelona terror attack: Spain hunts for van driver

Barcelona terror attack: Spain hunts for van driver

Spain mounts a sweeping anti-terror operation after a suspected Islamist militant drove a van into crowds in Barcelona, killing 13 people before fleeing, in what police suspect was one of multiple planned attacks.

Up Next

Barcelona Terror attack: Aussies injured

Barcelona Terror attack: Aussies injured

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has confirmed three Australians have been hurt when a van mowed people down in a popular tourist spot, killing more than a dozen people and injuring around one hundred more.

Video shows horrific aftermath in Barcelona

Netanyahu lurches Israel to the right

A dramatic election comeback for Benjamin Netanyahu gives the Israeli leader a fourth term in office. Is Israel a better bet today than it was yesterday?

The blunt comments by Obama administration officials illustrated how the campaign tactics Mr Netanyahu used to win an unexpectedly strong victory in Tuesday's election have further strained the historic ties between the United States and Israel. After six years of tension, relations between the two governments have frayed to a point not reached in decades.

Mr Netanyahu made opposition to US nuclear negotiations with Iran a centrepiece of his re-election effort. Then, in the closing days of the campaign, he said he would never agree to a sovereign Palestinian state, repudiating the concept of a two-state solution that has been a central element of US policy under presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

The Israeli leader had said in a major address in 2009 that his "vision of peace" included "two free peoples" living side by side in separate, independent states for Israelis and Palestinians. Many US officials, as well as most Arabs, had questioned his sincerity, but Mr Netanyahu's public reversal this week nonetheless marked a significant shift that administration officials rebuked on Wednesday.

The US would "re-evaluate our approach" based on Mr Netanyahu's "change in his position", White House press secretary Josh Earnest said.

Advertisement

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki raised the possibility that the re-evaluation could include a shift in position at the UN. She avoided the usual US language about vetoing UN Security Council resolutions that Israel opposes.

You will now receive updates fromBreaking News Alert

Breaking News Alert

"The prime minister's recent statements call into question his commitment to a two-state solution," Ms Psaki said. "We're not going to prejudge what we would do if there was a UN action."

Mr Earnest also criticised one of Mr Netanyahu's final campaign tactics: a videotaped warning to supporters that "Arab voters are streaming in droves" to the polls.

The US was "deeply concerned about rhetoric that seeks to marginalise Arab-Israeli citizens," Mr Earnest said. "It undermines the values and democratic ideals that have been important to our democracy and an important part of what binds the United States and Israel together."

Both on substance and rhetoric, the new Israeli government would be on a "collision course" with the US as well as major European countries, said Itamar Rabinovich, who served as Israel's ambassador to Washington during the mid-1990s.

Whether the two longtime allies can step back from such a collision – or even want to – will start to become apparent as Mr Netanyahu negotiates to form a new governing coalition and US officials decide how to respond to him.

At the same time, most of America's support for Israel has strong bipartisan backing, which is not likely to change. The US provides Israel $US3.1 billion ($4 billion) in annual military aid, vital intelligence support and works to assure that Israel has better military gear than any of its regional adversaries.

The administration will also continue to defend Israel diplomatically on many fronts, as it has even during the recent weeks of strife, officials emphasised. In Wednesday's statements, for example, Ms Psaki reiterated that the US would continue to try to block Palestinian efforts to join the International Criminal Court.